Fusilli with Mixed Vegetable Sauce

Fusilli with Mixed Vegetable Sauce

1 Review

From: EatingWell Magazine, September/October 1995

A fresh vegetable sauce, here full of eggplant, bell pepper, zucchini and tomatoes, is a nice alternative to everyday marinara sauce. We like the way the sauce slips into fusilli's corkscrew-like grooves.

Preparation

Active

40 m

Ready In

40 m

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add pancetta (or ham) and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, then add eggplant, bell peppers and zucchini. Season with salt. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and crushed red pepper. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes collapse and begin to form a sauce, about 10 minutes.

Pour in water, cover, reduce heat to maintain a bare simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Check occasionally, adding a little more water if needed to achieve a saucelike consistency. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook fusilli in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain. Transfer to a warm bowl. Add the sauce and cheese and toss well. Serve immediately on warm plates.

Tip: To peel and seed tomatoes:
1. Before you start, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place a large bowl of ice water next to the stove. Using a sharp paring knife, core the tomatoes and score a small “X” into the flesh on the bottom.
2. Place the tomatoes in the boiling water, in batches, until the skins are slightly loosened, 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatoes to the ice water and let sit in the water for 1 minute before removing.
4. Peel the tomatoes using a paring knife. Halve them crosswise and scoop out the seeds with a hooked finger.

Reviews 1

Labor intensive, but very good
This recipe was great. I made a double batch of the sauce portion, and I'm glad, because there was a LOT of chopping involved. However, now we've got some in the freezer for a quick meal later. Peeling, seeding and chopping the tomatoes was the longest (and messiest) part of prep. When I do this again, I may just put them through a food mill to save on time.
I could not find whole wheat fusilli, so I used whole wheat rotini instead. The brand I used was Hodgson Mills. The cooking time on the package was 10-12 minutes. Having never cooked it before, I went with the lower time, but the pasta was already overcooked. It was still good, but the pasta pretty much fell apart as I mixed it into the sauce. Next time I will keep a closer eye on it and check the texture sooner.
We made a side salad with Parmesan vinaigrette dressing to go with this, and I don't know if that filled us up, but four of us did not make it halfway through the six serving batch. Lots of leftovers for lunch!